According to a recent investor note from GF Securities analyst Jeff Pu, Apple might have a pair of surprises in store for the iPhone 17 lineup this fall. Most notably, Pu has seemingly changed his prediction that the entire iPhone 17 lineup will use a version of the A19 chip. Instead, he now believes the base model iPhone 17 will use the same A18 chip that’s used in the iPhone 16.
Pu had previously predicted that the entire iPhone 17 lineup would use the A19 chip and the differentiating factor would be the RAM. The analyst had said the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air would have 8GB, while the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max would have 12GB of RAM.
Now, Pu claims that the iPhone 17 will use 8GB of RAM, while the iPhone 17 Air will feature 12GB of RAM just like the Pro models.
Also in this analyst note, Pu says that all four iPhone 17 models will adopt a new metalens technology for the proximity sensor. The “metalens” technology may help Apple dramatically reduce the size of the Face ID sensor. Previously, Pu had said this change would only come to the iPhone 17 Pro Max. If it pans out, this means the entire iPhone 17 will feature a smaller Dynamic Island.
Notably, this contradicts Ming-Chi Kuo, who reported in January that the Dynamic Island across the iPhone 17 lineup will be “largely unchanged” compared to the iPhone 16 models
Here is Pu’s full breakdown of the iPhone 17 lineup specifications:
| Spec | iPhone 17 | iPhone 17 Air | iPhone 17 Pro | iPhone 17 Pro Max |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Launch | Sep-25 | Sep-25 | Sep-25 | Sep-25 |
| Display | 6.1″ | 6.6″ | 6.3″ | 6.9″ |
| Processor | A18 N3E | A19 N3P | A19 Pro, N3P | A19 Pro, N3P |
| DRAM | LPDDR5 8GB | LPDDR5 12GB | LPDDR5X 12GB | LPDDR5X 12GB |
| Front Camera | 24MP, 6P | 24MP, 6P | 24MP, 6P | 24MP, 6P |
| Rear Camera | 48MP 7P, 12MP 5P | 48MP, 7P | 48MP 7P, Periscope 48MP 1G+3P, 48MP 6P |
48MP 7P, Periscope 48MP 1G+3P, 48MP 6P |
| Face ID | Structured light | Structured light | Structured light | Structured light |
| Casing | Aluminum | Titanium | Aluminum | Aluminum |
| Modem | Qualcomm | Qualcomm or Apple | Qualcomm | Qualcomm |
| Charging | 35W | 35W | 35W | 35W |
| NPI | Foxconn | Foxconn | Foxconn | ICT |
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